Instead of one huge blog post previewing the Stanley Cup Final, I thought it would be better to break things down by different aspects of the game and how Chicago and Boston match-up. Next up: Goaltending.
Chicago: It's been a long, long road for Corey Crawford to finally reach the pinnacle of our sport, the Stanley Cup Finals. Drafted ten years ago, the now 28 year old Crawford was considered by many to be the heir in goal for the Blackhawks, and he's finally reaching his potential this post-season. Last year was unkind to Crawford, he struggled both in the regular season and the playoffs, and some were wondering if Chicago's management had run out of patience in their goaltending.
Crawford came back this year with a new focus, and he's been amazing since day one of the season, winning his first Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed in the regular season. Now this post-season, he's playing the best hockey of his life. Crawford leads all goalies with a minuscule 1.74 goals against average and his .935 save percentage is second. Overall he's allowed only 31 goals in more than a 1000 minutes of playoff hockey, impressive numbers that have him in the Conn Smythe Trophy discussion.
Back-up Ray Emery has yet to play a minute in these playoffs, but had an outstanding regular season that mirrored Crawford's as he shared his first Jennings as well. Should Crawford for whatever reason go down, Emery has Stanley Cup Final experience (with Ottawa in 2007) and there would be no fear to put him between the pipes.
Boston: Unlike Crawford, 26 year old Finn Tuukka Rask has found more immediate success in his NHL career. Also unlike Crawford, Rask was an integral part of the Bruins team that won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and has the valuable experience of learning from one of the best, Tim Thomas. Now that Thomas has moved on from the organization, Rask has taken over as the main man between the pipes and is, believe it or not, having an even better post-season than Thomas had in 2011 when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy. Rask's 1.75 goals against average is right there behind Crawford, and he has a simply phenomenal .945 save percentage through 16 games. With respect to the amazing post-season Crawford is having, Rask may be the best goalie on the planet right now. You can give credit to the Bruin's tough defense for helping him out, but he was still able to shut down some of the best superstars in the world this post-season. This includes Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who had a combined 34 shots against Rask in the ECF, but couldn't get one past him.
Boston's back-up, 27 year old Anton Khudobin, only has 21 games of NHL experience, and he has not played a single minute in the post-season. That being said, he hadn't received a real chance to play in the NHL until this year, and his numbers (2.32gaa/.920save%) were decent. However he's not the safety net that the Blackhawks have in the form of Emery, and the Bruins could be in some trouble if Rask goes down.
Edge: Bruins (slightly). At the goaltending position, it really is like splitting hairs between Crawford and Rask. Should either falter, then all bets are off, but Rask's dominance over the powerful offense of the Penguins in the last round gives him the slight advantage.
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